Mesoporous silica materials with uniform pore sizes have attracted considerable attention for applications in catalysis and separations, and as hosts for clusters and nanowires. The particle morphology of mesoporous silica is very important for certain applications. For example, spherical morphology is preferred when porous silica is used as a stationary phase in chromatography or as a catalytic support. Much research has been devoted to the morphological control of mesoporous silica. Several mesoporous silica materials were recently prepared with spherical particle morphology, and used as packing materials for HPLC columns. However, their use in separations has not been satisfactory due to their small pore sizes (≦4 nm) and particle agglomeration.
There is therefore a need for a process for the synthesis of regular shaped, for example spherical, particles with an ultralarge pore size. The resulting particles could then be applied as HPLC column packing material, and could be used as catalytic supports for a packed bed reactor.